The Interview
by FaithinBones
Summary: The press is treating Booth as if he alone solved the Durant case and he tries to set the record straight. (Season 10)
1. Chapter 1

(After the Lance to the Heart)

This story idea came from JAG'ed Bones in the Casckett. I hope this is what you wanted.

I don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooooooo

He hadn't really wanted to do an interview with the press, but Caroline talked him into it. The FBI and the Justice Department were taking hits, very bad hits and it all stemmed from the way Agent Seeley Booth had been set up and sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit. The press hadn't seemed to care about the story all that much when he was released from prison until Glen Durant and his treasonous organization had been unmasked. The fact that Booth and his team at the Jeffersonian had uncovered a plot by Durant to control the government through the blackmail of people in political office and in law enforcement drove the press into a frenzy.

Booth's story was riveting and the public wanted answers. The FBI and the Justice Department had been as straightforward as possible about the situation, but somethings had to remain secret for national security reasons. The citizens of the United States knew that something big had happened and they couldn't miss the fact that several high-ranking congressmen, senators, judges and various members of the FBI, the Justice Department, the NSA and Homeland Security were being impeached, fired or dismissed and that many of these people were sitting in jail awaiting trials for treason, malfeasance of office and in some cases, murder and accessory to murder. There were many more charges pending against these treasonous officials, but the list was long and these were the highlights. The fact that there were also people now being arrested in other cities, for crimes against the United States meant this story wasn't going to go away anytime soon.

As it was, Booth was the public face of what had happened. Though he was but one man who had helped uncover the greatest threat to the country since probably World War II, the FBI Agent's story was the one that everyone was interested in. While he had been investigating a murder he and his team at the Jeffersonian had stumbled upon something much more nefarious. Durant had thought he could stop the investigation by having some of his men attack Booth in his own home. When that didn't work, he arranged to make it look like Booth had committed murder of the men who had attacked him and his wife had come under suspicion at the same time.

Unfortunately for Durant, Dr. Temperance Brennan, Dr. Cam Saroyan, Dr. Jack Hodgins and Angela Montenegro hadn't been intimidated into silence. If anything, they worked harder to free Booth and to get to the bottom of what was going on. Dr. Lance Sweets who was trying to help with the investigation had been murdered and that had helped to make the story erupt in to the public eye.

Impatient with the reporters shortly after they had started the interview, Booth leaned back against the couch in the television studio and glared at Brenda Cummings and Dan Knight. "Quit calling everyone that helped me 'The Team at the Jeffersonian'. They have names, use them for God's sake. I was part of the team. I didn't solve this thing by myself. I had the help of Dr. Temperance Brennan. She's the best anthropologist in the country if not the world. She was the one who first suspected something was going on not me. She worked long hours on a murder case and with the help of Dr. Cam Saroyan, Dr. Jack Hodgins, Ms. Angela Montenegro and Ms. Caroline Julian they were able to put the pieces together and figured out what was going on."

Dan Knight knew that Booth didn't want to be there, so he tried not to irritate him. They wanted his story and if he walked out they would never get it. On the other hand, they had questions that they thought their audience might be interested in. "Yes of course. Could you tell me about Dr. Brennan? I understand she's brilliant, but she does have a reputation as someone hard to work with."

"My wife is not hard to work with." Booth glared at the reporter and debated with himself whether or not he should just leave. "She's brilliant, a genius and she only works with the best. She doesn't tolerate foolishness or laziness. That's why she's so good in her field. She teaches classes at the University and she has a list a mile long of anthropology students who want to train with her. I don't know where you got your information, but everyone that works with Dr. Brennan wants to work with her. They know how brilliant she is and who wouldn't want to work with someone like that? She was the key to uncovering the treason going on by Durant. Without her Durant would still be in business."

Knight knew that he was about to lose Booth, so he thought he'd better be careful with the next question. Before he could ask his next question, Brenda Cummings asked a question that turned out to be mistake. "Dr. Saroyan used to be your lover in college. What's it like to work with her while also working with your wife? Dr. Brennan works for Dr. Saroyan, how do they get along?"

Calmly, Booth stood up, straightened his tie and shook his head. "You people aren't interested in what happened to me and my team. You just want a salacious story well screw you and the horse you rode in on." Marching across the room, Booth was met by Caroline who had been listening to the questions he was being asked. "Cher . . . I . . ."

Booth held up his hand. "You want me to do an interview find me a reporter that isn't full of shit." With that, the Agent walked away leaving a furious Caroline behind. She wasn't angry at Booth, but at the reporters. Moving swiftly over to where the two reporters were arguing, Caroline interrupted them. "I warned you to not ask personal questions, but no, you had to do what you wanted to do. Seeley Booth will not talk to you again no matter how much you two try. I will be calling your producers in a few minutes . . . You had the opportunity to interview a real national hero and you wanted to treat him like he was Kim Kardashian . . . sad, very sad and a big mistake."

They protested that their readers were interested in everything about Seeley Booth and the people that worked with him, but Caroline wasn't interested. "You don't know who you're dealing with that's obvious." With that scathing retort. She turned on her heels and stalked away.

Ooooooooooooooooooo

Caroline found Booth in his office. Just to make sure their conversation wasn't overheard in the bullpen, she closed the door behind her and walked over to Booth's desk. "Listen Cher' . . ."

Booth quickly held up his hand to stop her. "You know I hate to stand in front of the press as it is. I do it because it's part of my job, but when they try to turn my life into a soap opera then that shit stops right there. I'm not doing any more personal interviews. Not one and you can't make me. Yes, when we're working cases that require me to talk to the press I will, but it will be about whatever case I'm working on. I will not answer personal questions. Not one. They tried to make Bones look awful and as for Cam and me, that was a step way too far."

She knew that Booth was furious and an angry Booth wasn't good in the grand scheme of things. He was a bear when he was in a good mood. "Listen Cher', I get it. I do. What if I arrange for a newspaper reporter from the New York Times or the Washington Post to talk to you. I'll set down the rules and we'll go from there."

"I have a better idea." Booth calmly leaned back against his chair. "I'm going to write a letter to the editor to both of those papers. They can publish them or not. It's up to them, but I will not do an interview. I'm not going to be used for entertainment."

"I see." Caroline stared at Booth for a few seconds. "I'll run it by the Director and my Boss and see what they have to say . . . They'll probably be fine with it, at least for now."

Booth shrugged his shoulders. "Take it or leave it. I'm not doing any more personal interviews. I will not let them turn the FBI and the Justice department into a circus. We all deserve more respect than that especially what we went through with Durant."

Since he was digging in his heels, Caroline knew she'd have to take what he was offering. It wasn't like they could fire him for not giving a personal interview. The FBI and Justice department were in Booth's pocket and he knew it. "Okay, I get it . . . Will you let me see the letter to the editor before you send it."

"Sure, but you don't get to change one word." Booth had had enough of being used.

"Fair enough." Caroline smiled at her favorite FBI Agent. "I just need a heads up that's all."

He knew what she was worried about and decided to ease her mind. "Don't worry Cher'. I'm not going to sell the FBI and the Justice Department down the river. I'll play nice."

Relieved, Caroline walked over to the door and paused. "I did tell them not to ask you personal questions like that. I told them to make sure their questions had to do with Durant and nothing else. Of course they didn't listen to me."

"Yeah, I figured. Don't worry about it. I'll write the letter today and send it off. I'll CC you to make sure you get a copy."

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Let me know if this interesting. The letter to the editor is next.


	2. Chapter 2

(Season 10)

Thank you for supporting my stories. I appreciate it.

I don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo

Booth carefully read over his letter that he intended to submit to the editor of the New York Times and the Washington Post. He wanted to be clear and concise and most importantly he didn't want to look like a fool. It seemed to be okay and he hoped it came across as sincere:

Letter to the Editor,

Some of you may know who I am, but if you don't that's okay. My name is Seeley Booth. I work for the FBI and I am in charge of the 'Major Crimes Division'. While doing my job I work with a lot of fine, dedicated employees. These people work hard to solve some very serious crimes and they fight to right any injustices that they can. Recently I was interviewed or I should say someone tried to interview me, but all they wanted to do was ask salacious questions about the women I work with. I refused to cooperate because of the insults implied against these wonderful people.

I want you to understand that the men and women I work with are not just hard-working, dedicated members of Law Enforcement. I also work with a lot fine dedicated scientist at the Medico-Legal Lab at the Jeffersonian Institute. I am their liaison with the FBI and they have helped me solve a lot of crimes over the years including the recent Glen Durant case.

While I was being interviewed, it became clear that there are a lot you who are interested in the women I work with, so I've decided to talk about them here.

First let me say when Glen Durant's treason was uncovered I didn't do this by myself. I had a lot of help. I never could have done it by myself. I had the help of Dr. Temperance Brennan. She is one of the best forensic anthropologists in the country maybe the world. Last year we were working on a murder case and the serial killer Christopher Pelant contacted Dr. Brennan and warned her about another serial killer we weren't aware of. Dr. Brennan used that knowledge to find that killer and in so doing helped uncover a conspiracy against our country.

We weren't sure how big this conspiracy was and what was involved. As we worked the case it grew bigger that any of us had expected. I was attacked in my home and almost killed to stop the investigation. They hoped by killing me that it would also silence my team. Because that attack failed I was imprisoned for a crime I didn't commit, but it didn't work and in the end, because of the dedication of the people at the Jeffersonian, I was released from prison and Glen Durant's organization was exposed. Our country had a close call and it was the work of a lot of people not just the work of one man that stopped it.

As I've stated before, Dr. Brennan is the leading forensic anthropologist in this country. She is a dedicated scientist and is respected not just in this country, but around the world. She works long hard hours identifying murder victims. She is responsible for identifying not only victims of violent crimes, but soldiers and victims from long ago wars. She has helped the United States by identifying remains of soldiers from previous wars giving many families closure. She's identified victims of pogroms in other countries helping families end that horrible chapter in their lives. She is a dedicated scientist and I have never met anyone so compassionate as she is. I am proud to work with her and it has been my honor to be her husband.

Dr. Camille Saroyan is the coroner at the Lab. She was a police officer before she went back to school and eventually became a physician. She eventually became the coroner of New York City and she was there when the towers were attacked and fell. She helped identify some of the victims that died in the towers. She works hard to help identify murder victims for the FBI and the CIA. Her record is exemplary. You won't find a better coroner anywhere. She is a great administrator and the Lab is run with maximum efficiency. I really admire her skills and I know I can count on her when the going gets tough. She was of vital importance to the Durant Case. She was careful to make sure that the serial killer case was done in such a way that no one could question the outcome when it was finally solved and it was proved that Stephanie McNamara was a murderer. I would like to mention that Dr. Clark Edison and Dr. Jack Hodgins helped with that case and the Durant case too. They did a great job and we couldn't have done it without them.

Ms. Angela Montenegro is the Lab's computer expert. She's also an artist. She worries that her art suffers working at the Lab, but she really shouldn't. She's never painted anything that I didn't like, well except for some modern cubist thing, but that's on me and not her. Angela is a computer genius and when we came across a USB drive that belonged to a murder victim, it was her that figured out what was so important about that drive and why the murder victim had kept it away from the people who had murdered him. The data on that drive showed who was involved in Durant's treason and she was able to determine how his organization was set up. It was her computer expertise that helped us prove that Durant was a traitor to this country and who was working for him and with him at the time.

Ms. Caroline Julian is a Federal Prosecutor and a dedicated officer of the court. During the investigation into the Durant case, she was attacked professionally and for a while she was dismissed from her job. After it was proven that Durant was responsible for the attack on me in my home, she was allowed to return to her job where she has worked hard to go after the people that thought it was alright to betray our country. Over the years she has been responsible for the conviction of some heinous serial killers including Howard Epps, Heather Taffet and Jacob Brodsky. Right now, she is in the process of trying Glen Durant for treason. We can count on her to do her job and she will get a conviction.

I've also worked with some great FBI Agents. For example, there is Special Agent Peyton Perotta who is a fantastic criminal investigator. She is currently the Agent in Charge at our Birmingham office and she's doing a great job there. I have also worked with Special Agent Gennie Shaw. She is currently working in our Baltimore Field office as a criminal investigator. She is a young agent, but she is a fine example of the future of the FBI.

I could mention a lot of other women that I have worked for and with, but I don't think it's necessary. You get the idea I'm trying to get across. Everyone I work with man and woman have proven to be the best in their fields and I am so proud to know these people. I love my job and I love the fact that I have such talented people working with me and for me. Our country has had a nasty scare, but we are in the process of going after those persons who thought it was alright to commit treason. They betrayed all of us and you can be sure they will pay for their crimes. You can be certain that you have a lot of fine Law Enforcement officers and Scientists working to make sure we're going to be alright and we will be.

FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth

Major Crimes Division

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Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.


	3. Chapter 3

(Season 10)

Thank your for reviewing my story. I appreciate it.

I don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooooooo

She found him in his office working on case files. "Here Cher'. I made pralines last night and I accidentally doubled the batch." Caroline placed a large tin gift box filled with the delectable candy on Booth's desk and smiled. "I couldn't let them go to waste."

Pleased and surprised that he was being gifted the pralines, Booth gave her a radiant smile and pulled the box towards him. Opening it, he picked up one of the pecan confections and bit off a piece. After the sugary candy melted in his mouth and he chewed the pecans, he gave out a small moan of pleasure. "God, Caroline, no one makes pralines like you do. Thank you."

"Well, like I said I couldn't throw them away. I'm glad you like them." Caroline knew that Booth adored her pralines and she usually made him a box of the candy for Christmas and his birthday, but after reading the letter to the editor in the Washington Post two days before, she wanted to show her appreciation. "Don't expect any more until Christmas."

Booth swallowed his next bite and used his finger to push a crumb of brown sugar into his mouth. "I won't. Thanks though."

"You're welcome." Caroline turned and walked back to the door. Before she left she paused in the doorway. "Nice letter to the editor. The Director said it should do."

"Did you make me these pralines because of the letter to the editor?" Booth was starting wonder if Caroline was rewarding him for what he had written.

Caroline shook her head. There was no way she would admit that she had appreciated the compliment Booth had given her in the letter. "No. I was talking to my daughter on the phone and I was too busy yeah yeahing instead of paying attention to what I was doing." Watching Booth pop the last bite of candy into his mouth, she walked out into the bullpen and noticed the agents at their desk busy working which she found very satisfying.

Finishing off his praline, Booth closed the box and tucked it into the bottom drawer of his desk. There was no way he was sharing and he didn't want Agent Aubrey to know he had them. It was a long time before Christmas and he was going to try to make the candy last as long as possible.

Ooooooooooooooooooo

Before lunch, Booth heard a knock on his door, looked up and found a delivery man standing in his doorway holding a box in his hand. "You Seeley Booth?"

"Yeah, what can I do for you?" He hadn't ordered anything lately, so Booth was curious about what was going on.

Stepping into the office, the man placed the box on Booth's desk and handed him a slip of paper to sign. "From Agent Perotta. Enjoy."

After he was alone in his office, Booth read the advertising on the lid of the box and saw the words 'Pie Sisters'. Quickly opening the box, he found a double crust Classic Apple Pie. "Wow." Rummaging in his desk, he found a box of plastic forks he kept there just in case he had to eat at his desk and scooped up a bite of pie. Savoring the cinnamon and apple flavors as he chewed, Booth wondered what he'd done to get a pie from Perotta.

"Oh, pie." Aubrey stepped into the office, a folder in his hand now forgotten. Stepping closer to the desk, he flipped the lid up and read it upside down. "Oh, Pie Sisters." The younger agents mouth started to salivate as Booth flipped the lid back down and scooped up another forkful of pie.

As he stared at Booth, he found it a little irritating that the man wasn't offering him any. "So, can I have a piece?" It never hurt to ask.

Since he knew that Brennan would be unhappy with him if she found out that he had eaten a whole pie, Booth found a fork for Aubrey and a napkin, scooped up some of the pie and placed it on the napkin. After he handed it to the him, Booth pointed at the chair in front of his desk. "Eat it here. I don't want anyone to know I have the pie. The greedy bastards around here don't have any boundaries when it comes to pie and cookies." As he scooped up more pie, Booth shoved it in his mouth and chewed slowly.

Grateful for the piece of pie, even if it was kind of small, Aubrey swallowed a bite and licked his lips. "When did you go buy a pie? I thought you just got out of a meeting with Stark?"

Booth shrugged his shoulders. "Agent Perotta had it delivered to me."

He had never heard of Agent Perotta and wondered what Booth had done to deserve a pie. "Why'd he send it to you? What did you do?"

"Perotta is a she not a he and I have no idea." Booth stopped eating since he was starting to feel full and he had a lunch date with his wife. Careful with the box, Booth stood up, picked up the box and walked over to his filing cabinets. His z file drawer was usually fairly empty and he placed the box in that drawer. That accomplished he sat back down and watch Aubrey finish his bit of pie. "You need something besides my pie?"

Aubrey held up his folder and handed it to Booth. "My notes on the last case." The pie now gone, he tossed the fork and napkin in the trash can next to Booth's desk and sat back down. "Um, that pie was good." He was hoping the owner of the pie would give him some more.

"It is." Booth wasn't in the mood to share. "Thanks for the file."

Dismissed, Aubrey stood up. "Thanks for the pie and tell Perotta thanks too."

Once he was alone again, Booth decided that he would call Perotta that afternoon and find out why she had sent him a gift. In the meantime, he had to go to lunch and pretend he was hungry so Brennan wouldn't question his food choices like she usually did when he ate junk food before a meal. _Well, pie isn't junk food. It's apples. Apples are fruit, so I didn't eat junk food._

Ooooooooooooooooo

Once he was at the diner, Booth realized he was a little full because of the pie and the pralines he'd eaten that morning. Once he sat down across from Brennan he ordered a cup of coffee and a bowl of chili. "So, how's your day going?" He hoped she wouldn't question his lunch choice. No such luck.

"You're just eating a bowl of chili?" Brennan found that to be a fairly light lunch for her husband. "Are you feeling well."

"Well yeah, sure." Booth tried to think of what he could say to put her off, but knew he would just end up worrying her. "I had a snack this morning, so I'm not really hungry . . . Agent Perotta sent me a pie . . . apple . . . from Pie Sisters . . . I'll bring it home tonight so Christine can have some."

Surprised to hear about where the pie came from Brennan frowned as she stirred some sugar into her coffee. "Agent Perotta." She didn't like the idea of the Agent giving her husband gifts. "I thought she was in Richmond."

"Birmingham." Booth leaned back while the server placed his coffee and chili on the table in front of him. "She's the Agent in Charge in Birmingham."

Brennan didn't really care where Perotta was. "Why did she send you a pie?"

"I don't know." Booth could tell Brennan was acting a little jealous, but he didn't have control over what Agent Perotta did or didn't do and he certainly didn't have any feelings for the Agent. "I'm going to call her this afternoon and find out why." He thought Brennan should be appreciative of the fact that he was being open and honest about the pie. "It was pretty good and I ate some. The chili is enough." _Since I plan to eat more pie this afternoon._ "So, how's your day going?"

Angela entered the diner and saw her favorite couple sitting at their usual table. Once she was near the table, she leaned over and hugged Booth. "Thank you. I'm going to do a painting of Christine for your office . . . maybe Brennan and Christine for your office." With that she breezed over to the counter, picked up the lunches she had ordered for Hodgins and herself and left the building.

A little stunned, Booth watched Angela leave and the turned towards his wife. "What the fuck is going on? First Caroline gives me a couple of pralines this morning." _No need to tell her about the big box. "_ Then Perotta sends me a pie and now Angela is going to do me a painting . . . you don't think this is because people are feeling sorry for me do you? . . . they shouldn't. I'm fine."

A little dismayed with what Booth said, Brennan shook her head. "They are acting rather strangely. You've been out of prison for three weeks and the Durant Case is closed . . . I don't know. Perhaps they are just trying to make you happy because they are your friends or they are showing you gratitude for persevering against Durant and going back to work at the FBI."

"Well, I'm starting to get creeped out." Booth picked up his spoon and scooped up some chili.

Brennan shrugged her shoulders. "Well, it isn't often that you receive gifts from your friends when it's not your birthday or Christmas, so I think you should enjoy it . . . a couple of pralines?"

"Yeah." Booth was not sharing his pralines. "Caroline made a batch last night and she knows I like them."

Somehow, she knew that Booth was lying, but when it came to candy he was not one to share unless he had too. It was just one of his weaknesses she was used to. "Did you eat both of them?"

"Yeah, all gone." Booth stared at his chili bowl. _Damn she knows I'm lying, but I don't care. She can't prove it._ "So, how's your day going?"

"Fine." Brennan picked up her fork and began to eat her Red Pepper Alfredo Pasta. "I identified one of the lost ones this morning."

Glad that she wasn't talking about pralines or pie or Perotta, Booth listened as his wife talked about the identification of the old bones. _I need to call Perotta. Something is going on and I want to know what it is._

Ooooooooooooooooooo

Let me know what you think of my story. Thanks.


	4. Chapter 4

(Season 10)

Thank you for your interest in my story.

I really don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooo

A free moment on his hands, Booth made a call to Perotta. "Hey, this is Booth. Thanks for the pie."

 _You're welcome. I remember you liked apple pie. It was just a little thank you for what you said about me in the 'letter to the editor' you wrote for the Washington Post._

Enlightened, Booth smiled. "Well, it's the truth. You are a brilliant investigator and you run the Birmingham office like a top. Special Agent in Charge Atkins was a traitor to his country and we needed to make sure his replacement was one of our best and that's you. The Director was telling me the other day about what a great job you're doing and I didn't want that to go unnoticed."

 _And I appreciate that. It was tough coming in here after what Atkins had done to this office, but I got rid of the agents that don't belong in the FBI and the new agents are coming along really well. Everyone here is determined to wipe the Durant stain out of this office. The local LEO's are glad that Atkins is gone. Apparently, he tried to interfere in local investigations and they were very angry with him and the FBI. We're slowly regaining their trust, but you know it's going to be awhile before they accept that Atkins didn't really represent the FBI. He was Durant's stooge all the way._

"Yeah . . . it makes me sick to think about what he was trying to get away with." Booth thought Atkins belonged in front of a firing squad, but that was just his personal opinion and that wasn't going to happen. "I just wanted to thank you for the pie."

 _You're welcome._

The call ended and Booth leaned back against his chair. He was still horrified that several FBI Agents had been so corrupt that they had thought it was okay to work for Durant. His faith in the FBI had been badly shaken when he had been accused of murder, but now that he knew what had happened and he knew that the FBI had been under the influence of evil, he could forgive what had happened to him. Not completely forgive, but just enough to try to move on. He also knew that the FBI would recover because of people like Perotta and himself. It would just take time and patience.

Ooooooooooooooooooo

Brennan had known that Booth had written a letter to the editor of two newspapers, but she hadn't read the letter since she avoided reading newspapers. She liked to support Booth in his endeavors, but she was sure he had written a well thought out letter and that was all that mattered to her. She had faith in his abilities as both an Agent of the FBI and as a decent human being.

She felt that newspapers were too focused on scandal to be of any use to her. If there was something important going on in the world, she felt that she would hear of it in short order from Angela or Booth. Angela had set up her phone to get alerts from one of the local news stations and the headlines were interesting, but she rarely hit the link to read the report.

Hodgins read several newspapers during the day if and when he had the time and he had been surprised to find the 'letter to the editor' from Booth. He hadn't known that Booth was going to write it and he found it well written and fairly modest. He had been surprised to see his name mentioned and it had pleased him enough to cut it out of the paper to save for Angela's scrapbook. "Dr. B, have you read Booth's 'letter to the editor'?"

"No, I assume it is well written and cogent." Brennan held her hand out towards Hodgins as he tried to pass her the newspaper clipping. Quickly scanning the letter, she found it both sincere and flattering. Reading it over once more, she realized that Booth had given most of the credit for bringing down Durant to her. She hadn't cared that Booth had been given the credit by news agencies and the FBI as she was his partner and any glory that befell him also fell on the Jeffersonian. His insistence that she had been the lynch pin made her feel emotional. "It is very well written . . . he was very considerate of those that work with him."

He had noticed the look of pleasure on Brennan's face and Hodgins knew it had been a good idea to show it to Brennan. "Booth isn't a glory hog that's for sure."

Not sure what the entomologist meant, Brennan almost asked him, but a few seconds of thought and she knew the gist of what he had meant. "He does like recognition when he has done a great job or has done something noteworthy, but he does recognize the value of our team and our input into cases. He isn't one to take credit from someone else's work."

Taking the clipping back, Hodgins glanced at it and smiled. "If you want me to, I can get you a copy of the paper."

"Thank you, it might be a nice keepsake." Brennan appreciated Hodgins offer. "Christine can read it when she is older."

Waving the clipping over his head, Hodgins left the room to seek out Cam and see if she wanted a copy of the paper too.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

That evening, Booth arrived home to the smell of lasagna in the air. His mouth watering, he moved towards the kitchen, found signs of dinner being prepared and opened the oven door to see what smelled so good. The sight of the bubbling cheese confirmed that lasagna was being made and it looked like real lasagna not tofu or vegetable substitute. A sound behind him, Booth closed the oven door and turned to face Brennan. Pausing, he was surprised to find her in an ankle length filmy white gown. The dress gave him hints of what was underneath and it appeared to be bare skin. "Hey . . . Christine is with Max?"

Amused, Brennan moved towards her husband, placed her hands on his chest and kissed him. "Of course. I would never wear something that our daughter doesn't need to see. She wouldn't appreciate it, but I assume you do."

"Oh, I do." He kissed her and let his hands roam over her back and down to her hips. "This is a nice welcome home."

After another passionate kiss, Brennan stepped back and over to the stove to check on the lasagna and the baked eggplant cooking there. "I hope you're hungry and didn't fill up on pralines this afternoon."

Not willing to admit he still had pralines in his desk, Booth shook his head. "I had a bag of chips and a cup of coffee for a snack. Believe me nothing would keep me away from your lasagna."

Glad to hear it, Brennan closed the oven door. "Good. I wanted to surprise you."

Not sure why she was making his evening so much more than he had expected, Booth placed his hand on her wrist and pulled her closer. "This dress is so . . . so damn hot." He kissed her and she responded. Once they were gasping for breath, they parted and laughed. "Wow, I dreamed of nights like this while I was away . . . you're my dreams come true."

Flattered Brennan blushed. "And so are you . . . I read your letter to the editor. Thank you."

"Well, maybe I should write more letters to the editor." Booth wanted to skip dinner, but he knew she had put a lot of effort into it and he wasn't going to disappoint her by asking her to skip it. "It was just the truth you know. If it hadn't been for you, we wouldn't have caught on to Durant. Then Angela and her computer Ninja skills broke the thing wide open. You're amazing and I wanted everyone that cared about the truth to know it."

She loved him so much and it was these moments that made her realize just how much. "You were with us, Booth. Every step of the way. We did it to get you out of prison and we did it to right a wrong. We needed your help to do what we did. It was you that figured out how to get Durant's DNA without a warrant. That was brilliant. We're a team Booth. It took all of us."

He was flattered since Brennan was never insincere when it came to praise. "Thank you . . . We make a great team."

As she moved out of his arms, Brennan gave the situation a quick thought, moved back to the stove and turned off the oven. "You know lasagna tastes better if you let it sit and absorb the seasonings." Taking his hand in her hand, she pulled him out of the kitchen and towards their bedroom. "I think I'm hungry for something else, aren't you?"

Following her down the hallway, Booth loosened his tie, pulled it from around his neck and dropped it on the floor. "Hell yeah."

Her laughter echoed around them in the hallway as they moved into the bedroom and over to the bed. They had both been miserable while Booth had been in prison, but now they were back together they had every intention of making love as often as possible. They were happiest when they were together and they both knew that.

Ooooooooooooooooo

This is the end of my story. I hope you enjoyed it.


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